Value of Irish exports drops in April

Published14 June, 2014

The value of Irish exports fell again in April, preliminary figures from the Central Statistics Office show.Seasonally adjusted exports were ‘ 6.8 billion in April, a reduction of ‘ 45 million or 1 per cent on the previous month.But imports saw a much sharper decline, falling ‘ 483 million or 11 per cent to just under ‘ 4 billion.As a result, the country s trade surplus rose 18 per cent to ‘ 2.87 billion in April.On an annual basis, April s export numbers were 5 per cent or ‘ 367 million lower than the same month in 2013.The reasons for the decrease was a ‘ 372 million or 18 per cent drop in the exports of medical and pharmaceutical products and a ‘ 138 million or 9 per cent fall in the export of organic chemicals.